Municipalities

Municipalities

Municipalities use steel for a wide variety of applications, such as building roads and bridges, constructing water pipes and sewers, manufacturing traffic lights and signs and creating new buildings.

Building Roads

In order to make way for new roads, old streets must be broken up by using a jackhammer, and after asphault, liquid cement or tarmac is poured, the new street has to be spread and flattened and made even by using a steamroller.

Bridges

Constructing bridges is the second most common application for which municipalities use steel, and on average, the supports of a bridge use 70 percent more steel than all of the other components combined.

As the population of many areas of the country that were once considered remote is rising rapidly, many states have gained federal funding for new, large bridges that pass over rivers of all sizes.

Underground Pipes

Waterlines are placed at a depth of five feet to 12 feet under the road in residential areas, and a small pipe breaks off from the main supply line and connects to each home’s water meter.

Sewers And Storm Drains

Sanitary sewers are constructed independently of storm drains, and the valves of the sewers in most municipalities are controlled from a central station that manages the water.

Water from sanitary pipes is carried to a water treatment facility, and the water is treated by using numerous strategies, such as aeration to remove excess iron, coagulation, sedimentation and desalination.

Rainwater that flows into each auxiliary storm drain is transported to one, enormous pipe that takes the water to the nearest sea, river, or creek.

Although the water usually flows naturally, some municipalities have installed pressurized pipes that are controlled by a computer at a central location, and operators can make the excess liquid flow much more rapidly with the click of a button.

Commercial Buildings And High-Rise Apartments

Steel structures are much more resilient to fires, hurricanes, floods and earthquakes than buildings that are constructed by using aluminum or cement.

Before the large, steel beams are put in place, contractors create foundations that are deep enough to reach the lower level of soil in the ground, which is much stronger than the upper layer. This thick, strong dirt can be found 20 feet below the surface in most locations.

Fences

Municipalities sign contracts with companies in order to have steel fences installed around water treatment plants and large governmental facilities that generate power.

The posts of each fence are secured deep underground, and a large amount of cement is poured into the hole in which each post is situated for increased stability.